A/HRC/18/47 and cassava plantations), mining and oil extraction, infrastructure upgrades and industrial power generation (e.g. dams), and rapid high-end urban development. 32. The lack of procedural and legal safeguards administered when implementing some projects has created a climate of unregulated development characterized by a lack of transparency, consultation and inclusive planning, which is unsustainable. At the root of these trends is poor enforcement of and compliance with the State’s relatively welldeveloped domestic legal framework governing land issues and the right to adequate housing, including the 2001 Land Law, the 2005 Sub-decree on Economic Land Concessions, and the 2010 Law on Expropriation. For example, ELCs accorded by the Government often do not comply with the requirements to consult with affected communities or to conduct environmental and social impact assessments. 33. Consequently, demonstrations and protests in the capital and provinces are common, as a growing marginalized and dispossessed sector of the population attempts to have a voice and take part in the decision-making process. Women are often on the frontlines at protests, as communities surmise that women are less likely to be targeted by authorities, but there have been cases of violence against women in the context of demonstrations, and of arbitrary detention of female protesters. OHCHR has repeatedly intervened to secure the release of persons wrongfully accused or held arbitrarily in detention due to their role in demonstrations, and has provided good offices to facilitate dialogue between communities and authorities to help them reach negotiated settlements. 34. OHCHR works to assist in the further development of procedural and legal safeguards, as well as to promote their implementation. In early 2010, the Government released a draft housing policy, which is awaiting approval by the Council of Ministers. OHCHR supported the policy’s vision that all citizens have a right to adequate housing and its recommendation to impose a temporary moratorium on the eviction of dwellers in informal settlements, and provided technical input to the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction in this process. 35. Following the Government’s adoption of the Circular on resolution of temporary settlements on illegally occupied land in the capital, municipal and urban areas (Circular 03) in May 2010, OHCHR has been supporting technical assistance efforts for communities to map their territorial boundaries and basic services and infrastructure needs, and to understand their tenure rights in the Cambodian legal framework. These efforts commenced with 12 communities in Battambang province and are likely to be extended to communities in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. While it offers some solutions to support settlers to improve their housing and ensure minimum standards for relocation, Circular 03 does not provide for a mechanism that determines the legality of urban settlements subject to the Circular, and does not provide for a fully developed dispute mechanism in case of disagreement. 36. The complexities of the legal framework and accompanying procedural requirements in Cambodia have put indigenous communities at particular risk of land grabbing and of losing their livelihood due to deforestation. Progress on land titling has been slow since the adoption of the Sub-Decree on indigenous land registration in April 2009. In order to help protect the traditional livelihoods of indigenous peoples, OHCHR supports networks of Government, United Nations organizations, civil society and communities to strengthen their capacity to use the domestic legal framework with regard to security of land tenure, through trainings and the provision of technical advice. 37. OHCHR provided financial and institutional support so that seven villages inhabited by the Phnong (Bunong) indigenous peoples in Bousra commune, Mondulkiri province could undergo registration as legal entities with the Government to enable them to apply for collective land titles in the future. OHCHR also monitors the project, whereby more than 10

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